1
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
in his deceptive answer about the vehicle's history, the salesman said that the used car had never been hit by another car
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception
a mail-order firm indicted for deceptive business practices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deceptive
False or deceptive votes and/or acts will render the respective Finalist ineligible.
—
CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Barrera plays Michelle, a deceptive character who will keep everyone guessing.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
Visually deceptive treats such as miniature cookies in the shape of wild mushrooms, a single black leather shoe, an unfinished cigar and seafood offer witty pairing with the tea tasting experience.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
The shuttering of the agency that enforces laws against anticompetitive and deceptive business behavior is one small part of the national gridlock that began on Wednesday and could result in the furlough of 750,000 federal workers and delay air travel.
—Reuters, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Barrera plays Michelle, a deceptive character who will keep everyone guessing.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
Visually deceptive treats such as miniature cookies in the shape of wild mushrooms, a single black leather shoe, an unfinished cigar and seafood offer witty pairing with the tea tasting experience.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
The shuttering of the agency that enforces laws against anticompetitive and deceptive business behavior is one small part of the national gridlock that began on Wednesday and could result in the furlough of 750,000 federal workers and delay air travel.
—Reuters, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceptive
Adjective
-
He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including COVID-19 misinformation and promoting conspiracy theories, and affirming antisemitic, racist, and transphobic comments.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
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Murphy said that’s misleading because many incidents never make it into official statistics.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Websites with unusually long browser names or a lack of searchable company representatives or contact information could be fraudulent.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Trump wasted no time in taking to Truth Social to lambast the video as fake and fraudulent.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Several residents who work in the Georgia King Village area weighed in on the incident, including Harriette Guity, who told News12 that false reports based on AI could stretch first responders thin.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Archaeologists concluded the structure was actually a false tomb, or a cenotaph, a type of burial monument erected to honor a deceased person buried elsewhere.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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At the time, many bettors turned to social media to say that something shady occurred regarding prop bets involving his stats for that night.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Plants bloom well in shady locations and fill the late-summer gap with narrow, upright panicles packed with white or pink blooms.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Matthiessen, not without reason, portrays the Bureau as paranoid, dishonest, and in league with corporate interests.—
Maggie Doherty,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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For that incredibly dishonest assessment that actually did a disservice to the country, Obama is held up to widespread praise by Democrats and others, even winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Poulaines hurt the wearer’s feet and could make their toe bones crooked.—
Michael Watson,
The Conversation,
20 Oct. 2025
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Barry Cooper, the colorful former police officer turned scourge of crooked cops, couldn’t attend the screening of a new film about him at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deceptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceptive. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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